Legacy List with Matt Paxton

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Coming up on "Legacy List with Matt Paxton."

- Hey there.

- Good to meet you.

- Matt travels to Western Virginia to help a family downsize a home filled with history.

- [Mike] It's The Gipper.

- Your great uncle who was Eleanor Roosevelt's driver.

- [Celia] Yes.

- And we're looking for his pistol that he would use to protect the president's wife.

Guys, I love my job.

(Celia chuckles) Moving into a new home is exciting, but decluttering and downsizing can be an emotional journey.

- We need your help.

- I can see.

I see a lot of collections already.

- It's paralyzing.

- That's why it's important to start with a legacy list.

It's a list of a few cherished items with high emotional value that help tell your family's story.

- Ooh.

- Ooh.

- My name is Matt Paxton, and I have the best job in the world.

Me and my team of experts help people downsize their homes and move.

But we also help them find their Legacy List.

- [Man] You made my dream come true.

- I can't believe it.

- This is why we do this.

(upbeat music) - [Endorser] Funding for "Legacy List" is provided by Bekins Van Lines.

At Bekins, our goal is to provide a smooth and simple moving experience.

No matter the size or distance of your move, Bekins is ready to help you get there.

You can find us at bekins.com.

Bekins: This is moving.

FirstLight Home Care, committed to providing safe and compassionate home services for you and your family.

FirstLight believes personal relationships and engagement are as important as mobility, bathing and personal hygiene.

Details at firstlighthomecare.com.

(upbeat music) - This week we're in Warrenton, Virginia to meet with Celia Faulk.

Her mom recently passed away and we've gotta clean out the family home.

She grew up in this house, so it is filled with family memories and it's gonna be really difficult to pack it all up.

(upbeat music) (knocking on the door) Celia.

- Hey there.

- Good to meet you.

- Hey, good to meet you, Matt.

Come on in.

(upbeat music) - [Matt] How long has your family been on this property?

- We moved in 1975.

- '75.

It looks like your parents were just here.

- Well, of course, my mom, she just passed away this past September, and this was her command center.

- Okay.

- And she could look out the window and see the deer and the groundhog and every neighbor go by.

Her chair there so that she could look out.

- Any chance I get to see plastic on furniture, I get excited.

(Celia laughs) - Well, and that was because she had a beloved cat, named Elliot.

And Elliot had a little bit of scratching problem.

- This is really a time capsule above ground and you can't live in that, so I can see why that Celia and her sister called me.

They need help to move forward.

Is it still your parents' house or is it you and your sister's house yet?

- Oh, it's definitely still mom and dad's.

- Okay.

- Still mommy and daddy's.

- Okay, so emotionally, how does that feel?

- It's a lot of memories.

It's treasures.

- And I'm asking 'cause this is why we're here.

- Yes.

Yes.

- Right?

- And that's why I contacted you 'cause I was overwhelmed.

- I got a hunch we're gonna have a lot of tears this week.

The goal here is eventually to make space for it to be you and your sister's home.

- Okay.

- And make space for that new generation.

- Right.

- But before we do that, I gotta figure out what I gotta clean.

(light music) Holy cow, it's a big basement.

- It is.

- So is this all storage or is there anything actually down here?

- Oh no, there's definitely some treasures down here.

A lot of things moved here in 1975 and haven't been opened.

- You got how many... - Baby cribs?

- [Matt] Yeah.

How many baby cribs are there?

- [Celia] I have more than we have children.

- [Matt] Alright.

We got a lot of work down here.

- [Celia] Yes.

- What other spaces do we have to clean up?

- Let's head upstairs to the utility room.

- All right.

(upbeat music) Yes, all right, this is... - A lot.

Yes.

- Golly day.

Well, let's talk about the elephant in the room first.

- Isn't it stunning?

- [Matt] This is beautiful.

(Celia laughing) Linoleum.

What was this room used for?

- [Celia] It was mom's sewing area.

- [Matt] Okay.

- She was a master seamstress.

- [Matt] Okay.

- She made everything like that.

That dress here.

The green dress.

- Oh, she made this?

- Yes, she made that.

- Oh, wow.

- I believe it was my sister's flower girl dress in my brother's wedding.

- Tradition.

- Yes.

Yes.

- Man, pride and tradition just keeps coming up in this house.

- Absolutely.

- For picking, we're gonna be looking for your Legacy List items.

- Yes.

- As a reminder to everyone, a Legacy List item is a very important item to tell your family's story.

- Yes.

- It's not necessarily financially valuable, but it is emotionally valuable.

What is on your Legacy List?

- So, one of the things is my mom's wedding veil.

- What is so special about that veil?

- Mom, she was master seamstress.

She was so into every detail.

This wedding veil, it really was the tip top part of her wedding ensemble.

And I don't believe that she made it, I believe that there was one thing that she spent the money on to allow someone else to make for her.

- Okay, so what's so special about this is that ironically, it's like the one piece of art the artist didn't create.

- Correct.

Yes.

I can't imagine her getting rid of the wedding veil, but I can't find the wedding veil.

- All right, what's the next thing on your Legacy List?

- My dad served in World War II.

He was in the Navy, but he's never said very much about his service in World War II.

Very common of that generation.

The greatest generation.

I'm hoping that you could find some... - Something.

Okay.

- Something.

That will tell me a little story.

All I know is he was in the South Pacific, he was on a PT boat.

- Okay.

One thing I've learned in my career is the guys that saw action in World War II, they didn't talk about it.

And that's what her dad did.

And I'm hoping we can really find some stuff that can help close the loop on that for her and let her know more about what her dad experienced.

- So the third item on my legacy list is Uncle Shirley's service pistol.

I call him Uncle Shirley, but he's actually my great Uncle Shirley.

- Okay, what was so special about Uncle Shirley?

- My dad's father died when he was three years old, and this was of course during The Great Depression.

So Uncle Shirley and Aunt Mamie, basically showed up at the door and said to my grandmother, "You have too many children on your hands.

We're gonna take one and and raise for you."

- Wow.

- Now, uncle Shirley was Eleanor Roosevelt's personal driver.

I know, somewhere in this house is his ankle pistol.

- Your great uncle was Eleanor Roosevelt's driver.

- Yes.

- And we're looking for his pistol that he would use.

- Yes.

- To protect the president's wife.

I love it.

Guys, I love my job.

(Celia chuckles) All right, do we have anything else on that list that could actually beat that?

That's an amazing item.

- My grandmother lived in the family house.

- [Matt] Okay.

- The family property had horse paddocks.

Well, one of the horse paddocks was rented out to the next door neighbors.

The next door neighbors actually allowed Jacqueline Kennedy to come ride her horse there.

So somewhere in the house, there is an eight millimeter film of Jackie Kennedy riding horses at my grandma's farm.

- Oh my gosh.

- The eight-millimeter film that they want us to find is absolutely fascinating.

I really wanna find this for them.

All right, we're gonna look for those legacy list items.

We're gonna clean up this space.

- Thank you.

- I've gotta get Mike in here to help me figure out what we're gonna do, but hopefully we can get a lot done in the next day.

- Okay.

(light music fading) (upbeat music) - Matt really didn't tell me much about this project.

He just said, "Hey, I need you to get to Warrenton, ASAP."

And now I see why.

The stuff they're not keeping, are we donating?

Are we just discarding?

- If you and I think we can donate it, let's donate it.

- [Mike] Okay.

- They would much rather help people than throw it away.

Yeah, I don't think they're ready to get rid of any of the holiday stuff.

- Okay.

Oh, here you go, Matt.

- That's a little small for me.

I feel like... - It's like a Christmas story.

- Yeah.

Oh, look at this.

This is some of the things she didn't even finish.

Believe it or not, there's not a lot of things I like to see saved.

- Yeah.

- But this is one, I really like it.

'Cause a lot of times it's somebody in the family's gonna want to finish the project.

- [Mike] Okay.

- Sometimes, dreams are more important than an empty house.

I'll say that.

- That's fair.

- This is a room that's tough to clean because you wanna get rid of most of it and make space, but you really do have to hold onto a few items to remember the past.

- [Mike] Oh, this is somebody's Letterman sweater.

- Oh, wow.

Look at that.

I think it was the brother that's deceased.

That's the high school they all went to.

- Oh, okay.

- Yeah.

This Letterman's sweater is awesome.

It's from a person that's no longer with us.

It tells a lot about them.

And I'm not sure that the family knows it's in here.

There's a shoebox down there, right underneath.

- Oh, okay.

- I'm curious about that.

What's that?

All right, let's... - Why don't you take that?

- I'm guessing that's gotta be the veil, man.

Oh yeah.

- Wow.

- Look at that.

Okay, she said it was kind of ornate, so this has gotta be it.

- Yeah.

- Alright.

- [Mike] We found the first legacy list item.

- All right, boom, legacy list item number one.

- Oh.

- The veil is intricate, it's special, it's beautiful.

It's different than everything else we found in this room.

(light music fading) (upbeat music) - All right, I'm really hoping there's not cookies in here, but, oh, here we go.

A whole box full of movies.

- Oh my gosh.

Look at that.

- Niagara Falls.

Christmas 1963.

- Oh this is cool, man.

Gosh, look, these are all the old ID cards.

Driver's license, 1947.

- Now this says Mrs. F-O-U-T riding.

- Yeah, so Ms. Fout, now you're really close.

The Fouts were good friends.

It's an old Virginia family.

They were good friends with the Kennedys.

- Oh.

- So the Fouts, that's how the Kennedys connected to this family.

- Okay.

Some of these are labeled and some of them are not.

- Can you go through that?

- Yeah.

- Tonight maybe, and see what you find.

I mean, if anything that has the Fouts on it, - Mm-hmm.

- That's gonna be really interesting.

- Okay.

Now we're not sure if the Jackie Kennedy film is in there, but I promise this, if it is, I'll find it.

- [Narrator] Jackie Kennedy had a passion for riding horses, but she wasn't the only first lady who had a passion that had nothing to do with politics.

John Quincy Adams wife, Louisa, had several unusual hobbies, including raising silkworms.

When it comes to throwing dinner parties, First Lady Dolley Madison takes the cake.

Dolley's hosting was so legendary, she inspired a line of snack foods.

Grace Coolidge was a devoted baseball fan.

She kept her own scorecards and attended many Washington Senators games.

When the president once tried to leave a World Series game early, the first lady told him to sit back down until the game was over.

And then there was fearless First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

She loved flying so much, she once snuck out of a White House dinner with famed aviator Amelia Earhart for a quick flight around Washington.

When it comes to First Ladies in their hobbies, the sky's the limit.

(light music) - [Matt] You know, it's a good thing we don't have to clean out the entire house.

We would spend a couple days in this basement.

- Dude, it's The Gipper.

- What is it?

- It's Ronald Reagan is The Gipper.

- [Matt] Oh my gosh.

(Mike chuckles) - This is a political poster.

- [Matt] The fact that we're in Washington DC, you always find interesting stuff.

- [Mike] Yeah.

- This is one of the nicest trunks I've ever seen.

- That's pretty awesome.

- Dude, I think I found something already, dude.

- Really?

- Yep.

- Should I come over?

- Excavator?

But here's a gun, man.

- Oh my gosh.

It's in a pretty minor hole here, but... - [Mike] Wow.

- This is Uncle Shirley's ankle pistol.

Okay, so this is empty, but you still wanna treat it always like it's full.

- Absolutely.

- From the White House.

- [Mike] Okay.

- There you go.

March 1st, 1921.

All right, well, we got yet another legacy list item.

I have found a lot of guns in my career, but this is probably the most historic gun I've ever found.

- [Narrator] The president of the United States is one of the most protected, well-guarded individuals in the world.

But security for the commander-in-chief wasn't always a big concern.

This lack of security would prove fatal when one of our most beloved presidents was gunned down while watching a play at Ford's Theatre.

And how about this Ford's twist of fate, only hours before he was killed, Lincoln approved the formation of a new government agency.

Its name, the Secret Service.

Originally created to fight counterfeiting.

The agency officially took on the task of protecting the president after William McKinley was assassinated in 1901.

What started as a small bureau with a handful of agents has grown into an organization of nearly 7,000 employees with a wide range of responsibilities.

That includes guarding the president and the first family, protecting high ranking government officials, and providing round the clock security for past presidents as long as they live.

The Secret Service also travels with the president and vice president wherever they go in the world, even when they're on vacation.

And who pays for all of this security?

Why, the taxpayers, of course.

The projected Secret Service budget this year is a whopping $3 billion.

(light music) - [Mike] Here we go, Matt.

The old- - Oh, the old action arcade.

- [Mike] Yes.

- I love this.

- Let's play at Coney Island.

- It was like a finger puppet arcade.

- [Mike] Did you have one of these?

- No, we were not that wealthy.

I had a rich kid down the street that had it, and we would be friends with him just so we could play with his toys.

- Just play with his toys.

- Yeah.

Step right up, you're on Coney Island.

Well, things were simpler back then.

(light music) I think we've got two, maybe three legacy list items already, depending upon what you find with the film.

- Yeah.

- What do you need to do with your team?

- I would really love to get a few minutes with Celia so we can make sure we're all on the same page with the mudroom.

And I can get my crew rolling in there.

- Okay.

All right, you do that.

I'll keep picking over here and I'll meet with you guys later up there.

- Okay.

Me and my crew do the heavy physical lifting, but Celia has to do the heavy emotional lifting.

All right, this is depending on your outlook on life, either your favorite or least favorite part of the project.

- Okay.

- 'Cause we've already been picking, we've been finding things, but now we've got real hard decisions to make.

What about things like I've seen about 15 flashlights.

(Celia laughs) Did somebody have a thing for flashlights or?

- After Thanksgiving each year, the grandkids would have an epic flashlight tag battle in the front yard.

- Whoa.

- But that's definitely something that could definitely go to the homeless shelter, something like that.

I would love to see these things that can be donated.

Donate and given a second life.

- There's a lot of work that's gotta get done in here.

- [Celia] Yes.

- I'm gonna get my crew in here, and we're gonna get rolling.

- Great.

Great.

Let's do it.

This is a launching point.

I've been afraid to open closets because, well, when I open closets and things like that, I know that there are treasures in there.

- Yeah.

- And I feel like when we find it, it's almost like the story's over and I don't want it to be over.

- Yeah.

- But it has to, the next chapter has to move on.

- The reality is, right now, nobody's enjoying things that are tucked away.

- Right.

- And if you really wanna honor your family and the story, it's getting these things out and making sure people know what they are and why they're important.

That's what we're gonna help you with.

- That would be amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

(light music) - There's a reason these mudrooms and other spaces get filled, because these are the things that you do not want to deal with.

This is hopefully gonna create the momentum they need.

They see what happened in the mudroom, they can carry it on to the basement.

So that when they come here, they can actually enjoy the land and not think of it as a burden or an obligation.

(light music fading ) (light music continues) - So before we can start, I wanna thank you for having us.

We're gonna hopefully surprise you a little bit, and obviously the goal was to help you as well.

- Thank you.

- So, physically, we cleared out the utility room.

Now, you've got a space for upstairs and for downstairs.

So whatever space you're gonna tackle, you have a place to put the stuff you're gonna keep.

- Okay.

- All right, the first legacy list item that you asked us to find.

- Okay.

- Was the wedding veil.

- Oh.

- [Matt] Everything your mom saved, she saved it very carefully.

- I don't ever remember seeing this.

Ever.

Never seen it.

Never held it.

It kind of looks like Princess Diana's.

- [Matt] A little bit.

(Celia chuckles) And I don't get princess vibes here, honestly.

- No.

We were not allowed to be princess.

- [Matt] Not a lot of princesses here.

- No, but mom loved her fashion and really appreciated it.

Can I put it on?

- Yeah, please put it on, my God.

I love it.

Everyone deserves to be a princess for a day.

- Yes.

Thank you so much.

- I love it.

And then one of the other things you asked us to find was something from your dad's military service.

We didn't find a lot of his military stuff, but this is your dad, right?

- [Celia] Yeah, that is my dad.

- We were able to find a lot of research, though.

This is the muster roll of your dad's squadron.

It is the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron, the 36th, and that's all the men that he served with.

- Wow.

- [Matt] He was in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Borneo at the end of the war.

- [Celia] Okay.

- [Matt] He absolutely saw some real action.

- [Celia] Oh yeah.

- [Matt] All right, so him not talking about it adds up.

- [Celia] Okay.

- [Matt] Now this is what's really interesting.

- Oh.

- We did some research, and service in serving your country is clearly deeply rooted in your family.

Believe it or not, in 1780, your fifth great grandma.

- Oh, that's awesome.

- Cathy Holtzclaw, she supplied the revolutionary militia with whiskey.

- Nice.

Yes.

- In 1780.

That's pretty cool.

And that's not just for drinking at that point.

- Right?

Exactly.

- Right.

There's medical supplies, all types of stuff.

- And septic.

Absolutely.

- Yeah.

- [Celia] That's amazing.

Thank you so much.

- All right, so we've been talking a lot about service.

And there's one person in your family that really, it's a fascinating story of service, your Uncle Shirley.

- Yes.

- Shirley Alfred German.

And the legacy list item you asked me for was his ankle pistol.

I don't believe this is the service pistol.

- [Celia] Okay.

- I believe this was just an extra pistol that he carried.

- Right.

Yes.

- Now, this is what blew me away.

I want you to open this letter.

We found this with it.

- [Celia] Okay.

It has daddy's handwriting on it.

- [Matt] Okay so that's your dad's handwriting.

- That's daddy's handwriting.

- Okay.

- "Dear Shirley, before I sever my connection with the White House, I wish to tell you how I have appreciated your services during the past eight years.

I shall feel mighty lonesome without you, for you have been one of the most faithful and industrious men I have ever met.

I hope you'll always feel free to call upon me in any emergency.

Sincerely yours, Joseph Tumulty, secretary to the president."

- That's history.

- That's amazing.

- How does that make you feel?

- That means a lot to me, 'cause of course, he raised my father.

- [Matt] Yeah, let's talk about that.

- And I feel like that's what my dad picked up from Uncle Shirley.

If you are blessed with traits, blessed with skills, and you don't share them, what good are they?

- [Matt] Yeah.

They definitely share 'em.

- [Celia] Absolutely.

- The last thing on your legacy list that you wanted us to find was the eight-millimeter film.

Here's the amazing thing.

We found it.

And it's just titled "Ms.

Kennedy."

- [Celia] Yes.

- Never heard her call that in my entire life, I gotta be honest.

(Celia chuckles) I wanna know when was the last time you saw this.

- Thanksgiving 2010.

And the reason that I know that, it was the last Thanksgiving with my brother.

My brother died of pancreatic cancer in 2011.

And that last Thanksgiving, my mom was committed, and she said, "This is gonna be the best Thanksgiving we've ever had."

We sat up the screen in here and had popcorn and we watched films.

And one of 'em was Mrs. Kennedy riding her horse in my grandmother's paddock.

- Yeah, we were talking about your brother, right?

We found this.

I didn't really know much about it.

I think it was Randy's Letterman's jacket.

- Yes.

Oh, my brother and my sister and I, we don't have the same mom.

- Yeah.

- But when my mom and dad married, mom took Randy in.

And I never knew that we weren't full brothers and sisters, but that mom would keep his Letterman's jacket.

- Do you know where I found it?

- No.

- In your mom's sewing kit.

- Oh.

- Your mom who did not birth this boy.

- Oh, she loved him.

She loved him.

They had a really, a really special relationship.

Before he died, he said, "You know, Mary Ellen loves me like I'm her own."

- Now that you tell me that full story, this is so much more than a sweater.

- Yes.

- I came here to find this tape.

I wanted this film.

- Yeah.

- I could care less about a film about Jackie Kennedy now.

I love things like this.

Your parents loved, no matter what.

I'm intrigued by this stuff, but I'm blown away by their stories and their life lessons, and that's what this is about.

- I can't thank you all enough for the gift to not only help us, but also giving us more than what we knew.

We are so, so appreciative.

- So I'm gonna go sit on your back porch.

- Enjoy the view.

- And enjoy it.

(Celia chuckles) Thank you so much.

- [Celia] Thank you very, very much.

- [Endorser] Funding for "Legacy List" is provided by Wheaton Worldwide Moving.

Wheaton's number one goal is to help you, your loved ones, and your belongings get to your new home quickly and safely.

You can find us at wheatonworldwide.com.

Wheaton Worldwide Moving: We move your life.

FirstLight Home Care committed to providing safe and compassionate home services for you and your family.

FirstLight believes personal relationships and engagement are as important as mobility, bathing and personal hygiene.

Details at firstlighthomecare.com.

(light music) - So for entertainment purposes and to get us outta the house, we would be sent with a bucket of balls and a laundry basket.

- Love it.

- Stay out there until you get it in.

- Okay, all right, we'll do the same.

(Celia laughs) I like the rod.

There it is.

Oh.

- Oh.

- How does this feel to have people back on the land?

- There's so much here and it's so nice to share it with others.

- I think that's what it's made for.

(light music) All right, guys.

Boom.

- Yeah.

Whoo.

- I got it.

- There it was.

- Good job.

Good job.

- 20 bucks to kill her.

- Nice work.

- Ah.

- [Narrator] Visit my legacylist.com to learn more about the tips, tools and professionals to help make your own big life move easier.

Learn more about this episode or submit your story to be featured on the show at mylegacylist.com.

(upbeat music fading) (ascending music)